So Much Like Your Father
by DemonRider404
Summary: Melody is the only daughter of Maka and Soul Evans. She has struggled with feelings of bitterness and loss, and the unwanted pity of her peers, since Soul supposedly walked out when she was a child. But when she secretly witnesses her father's brief return eight years later, she learns that he may not have abandoned her at all-and that he may be in danger. (Full summary inside)
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Alright, so I guess this wraps up my first ever Resbang! I have to say this was probably the most entertaining, stressful event I've ever participated in...and I cannot wait to do it again next year. :D A huge thanks to my beta eec-midford (who saved my ass about a million times on this thing and made it readable for you guys ^^;), and to my artist MarshOfSleep for, well, being awesome and making a badass artwork/playlist combo. :D Alright, on to the story now!

 **Full Summary (since FFN doesn't like longer summaries ig):** Melody is the only daughter of Maka and Soul Evans. She has struggled with feelings of bitterness and loss, and the unwanted pity of her peers, since Soul supposedly walked out when she was a child. But when she secretly witnesses her father's brief return eight years later, she learns that he may not have abandoned her at all-and that he may be in grave danger. Confused, intrigued, and sick of living with a "broken" family, Melody enlists the help of her partner and her mother's old friends to find out the truth, and bring her father home for good.

 **Prologue:**

Melody woke around three in the morning to hear her mother in the kitchen. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and listened; was she up cleaning again? As she listened harder, however, she made out that her mother was talking to someone. She kept her voice down; Melody couldn't make out what she was saying, but she could tell her mom was angry.

Who could her mother possibly be arguing with at this time of night? Melody carefully lifted herself from the bed and made her way to the bedroom door. She cracked it just slightly, careful of the creaking hinges. Footsteps indicated the two adults approaching, and Melody carefully positioned herself by the door so that she couldn't be seen behind it.

"...just gonna leave again in the morning!" her mother hissed, close enough now that Melody didn't have to strain to hear her.

The other person, a male, pleaded, "Maka, please, will you just hear me out?"

"No, you hear me out this time! Why can't you stay?!"

"I just can't. You of all people should know that. You never questioned me about things like this before."

"And you only ever come around when Melody's asleep. Don't you think she deserves to know?"

"Maka, you already know I can't tell you these things, and I can't tell you for a reason. You should trust me."

"I do, but…"

"Well then why don't you act like it? You are being really stubborn right now."

An anxious knot made its way into Melody's stomach. Maka's frustration and anxiety was reflected in her daughter; aside from the normal anxiety of hearing one's parent angry, the male speaker's voice was painfully familiar…but she found herself too groggy still to make a connection. Who was this guy to be scolding her mother, anyhow?

"If you wanted to leave, then you could have just said so!" Maka cried, no longer trying to keep her voice down. Melody jumped.

The man growled. "Maka Renée, don't you dare!"

Melody held back a gasp. The familiarity clicked in her tired brain, but she almost didn't want to believe it. The man had used her mother's middle name. Only one man ever did that—even Spirit never called her that…that voice was Soul.

That was her father out there.

"Dare _what_?" Maka challenged. "Point out that you're never home? That you just up and left, cryptic note on the door, no explanation, no calls, nothing?!"

"Maka, I know you were scared, and I'm sorry-"

"This isn't just about me, Soul! You think _I_ was scared? What about your daughter? Melody was seven! You tell me how I'm supposed to explain to your seven-year-old daughter, who you know _adores_ you, that daddy might not ever come home, and I don't know why!"

Melody felt her chest tighten as the memories flooded back. Memories of confusion and tears and resentment that she had never wanted to go back to. And yet…she felt it was too late to lay back down and try to shut out her parents now.

"Maka…" The tightness in Soul's throat was audible. "I didn't. Want. To leave. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

There was a brief, tense silence.

"Then why did you?" she demanded—as demanding as she could sound while fighting back tears. "For eight years I've sat around, raised your daughter, cleaned the house, waiting for you to come back, or even just call."

"I-"

"For eight years I've waited for you to come home and been overjoyed when you finally did."

"Ma-"

"I would run up and hug you and cry on your shoulder about how much I missed you, even though I knew you were only gonna be here for one night."

"Sweetheart-"

"But not this time, Soul. I want answers."

"Baby, I-"

"Soul, don't pull that sweet talk thing with me! Endearing names and pretty words aren't gonna help this time. Where were you?!"

"I told you," he responded, trying to keep his voice even, "I've been around the country."

"Why?"

Silence again. Then, a deep breath from Soul.

"Maka...please, don't freak out and _please_ trust me here...but I'm being followed. By someone who would hurt you and Melody to get to me. That's why I can't come home very often, and even when I do, it's risky. But that's all I can tell you without putting you in too much danger."

"Nothing's come at us for the past eight years. Why should we worry now?"

"Because I've been very careful thus far. I'm being careful not to do anything that would attract too much attention to me or, God forbid, my family."

"You couldn't even pick up the phone and call me to let me know you were alive?"

"Call tracing."

Maka softened her voice. "Soul... who is chasing you? I know you; you've never been scared of anything. We've gone up against and defeated things that most people never see in their worst nightmares. What could _possibly_ scare you so badly?"

Again, Melody's native curiosity gripped her, and she carefully cracked the door enough to see her parents, staring at each other intensely. She stared wonderingly at her father, with the realization that she hadn't seen him since she was little. She supposed, after years of confusion and resentment, she'd somewhat gotten used to his absence without realizing it.

She watched as her ash-blonde mother, with her back to the door, sympathetically stroked his cheek. Soul's wild, semi-long hair was stark white, as was his daughter's messy ponytail. He stared at Maka with tired eyes the same ruby red as Melody's. He was taller than Maka—not much, probably about five-eleven to her five-seven. Reflecting on herself, a pale, thin albino girl that was already just about her mother's height, she finally understood the "you are so much like your father" that her mom would mutter when she thought her daughter couldn't hear.

When she looked back up at her parents, Soul wasn't looking at her mother anymore; she almost hoped she was mistaken, but it looked like he was staring directly at her. Startled, she hid behind the door again and held her breath.

"Losing my family," her father said finally. "That's what's scaring me, Maka."

"You're never gonna lose us, Soul," Maka answered. "We'll always be here." She choked on the next phrase: "Just waiting for you to come home…"

She didn't quite finish before she melted into sobs. The sounds tore at Melody's heart. Her mother never cried around her. She had always been very tentative on the subject of her husband, but she had never cried. Not even when Melody was seven years old, maybe a few weeks after Soul left, and asked her mom when Daddy was coming home.

Melody listened to her parents' footsteps retreat, her mother sobbing and her father gently shushing her. Shocked and disillusioned, she shut her bedroom door and dragged herself back to her bed. She fell like a deadweight onto the mattress, face-first into her multitude of pillows. Her brain hadn't quite caught up with the events of the last ten minutes, and she was almost tempted to believe that she was stuck in a vivid dream.

She rolled over, put her head in her hands, and let a single sob escape her. The confusion and the realization that she had just seen the father she had never really known was too much to bear. But before she could break down completely, she stopped herself. She hated the feeling of crying, the helplessness of it. So she took a few deep breaths, pulled her blanket over herself, and went back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Melody Evans absentmindedly chewed on her fingernails as she sketched something in her notebook. The teacher, the psychotic scientist who everyone said had been teaching here forever, droned on in the background.

Mel was a bright student, and an excellent meister, just like her mother. But recently, she seemed troubled, even to those who didn't know her well. Of course, rumors were already flying around, as they do in groups of teenagers—Melody's depressed, the expectations on her are too high to handle, her dad walking out really messed her up…

"Mel. You're doing it again."

The girl snapped out of her trance to look over at her partner.

David Nakatsukasa—taking his mother's surname as his father didn't really have one—was a tall, lanky boy with dark hair that he didn't cut often enough. He had been Melody's best friend as long as she could remember, considered an unofficial cousin since their parents had been so close growing up. He took more after his mother than anything, but he did inherit his dad's blue-green eyes. He stared at Melody under furrowed, bushy eyebrows.

"What's the matter with you lately?" he whispered. "You haven't been yourself for the last week."

Melody shook her head, briefly glaring at her chewed-up nails. "I dunno," she sighed. "Just haven't been sleeping well, I guess."

David's frown grew more pronounced.

"You're a terrible liar," he muttered, but ultimately left it alone.

She sighed. She knew it was true.

The bell rang to release the students; Melody and David stood and exited with the others, Mel ignoring the concerned glances thrown her way. She happened to meet Professor Stein's gaze as she hit the bottom of the stairs; a silent exchange that felt as though it had lasted several minutes.

Stein had mentored Melody and David's parents; he hadn't exactly been close while the legendary meisters' children grew up, but he knew them well nonetheless, and undoubtedly knew what Melody and her mother had gone through all those years ago.

Mel looked away and down at the floor as she crossed the threshold into the hallway. The soul-searching stares from her peers were uncomfortable enough; she definitely couldn't take it from someone who could actually see into her soul.

The first half of the walk back to Melody's house was quiet; it may have even been awkward had she been fully present in the moment. She clutched her books to her chest and stared at the sidewalk, barely aware of where she was walking.

" _Melody, Jesus!_ "

The meister gasped as she was yanked backward by her arm. A motorcycle sped past, not only going significantly faster than it should have been, but completely blowing the stop sign in front of it.

David stood in front of Mel and gripped her by the upper arms, shaking her slightly in his outburst.

"Melody, what the hell is going on with you?!" he demanded. "This isn't like you. You almost got yourself killed just now!"

"It might not have killed me," she muttered, still in shock. David narrowed his eyes.

"Sarcasm, Mel? Really?" He sighed and released her, crossing his arms and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Seriously now. What's going on?"

Melody sighed as well. "I told you this morning-"

"Yeah, that you didn't sleep well. And the day before that you were stressed about a test-that we didn't even have, by the way. Or it's your mom. Or some kid tried to start a fight with you. Or you lost out on a mission. Or you're sick. I know all your lame excuses by heart, you know."

Mel pursed her lips and huffed. Looking down, nervously shifting her feet, she mumbled, "You'd think it's stupid."

David crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Mel. You've known me your whole life. Even if it is stupid, it's messing you up, and I want to help."

"Well…" Another anxious foot-shuffle. "It's...I've been thinking...about my...well, my...my dad."

A brief, awkward silence followed. Melody's partner shook his head and gave her a gentle, albeit still confused look. "What about him?"

She thought for a few moments, tightening her grip on her books and refusing to meet his eyes. Finally, she turned.

"Come on," she said, "walk and talk. You know how my mom gets sometimes…" She made sure to look before crossing the street this time; her partner shoved his hands in his pockets and followed her.

"So," she sighed, "ugh, where do I begin? Alright, so, like a week or two ago, I woke up in the middle of the night and I heard my mom talking to someone. And, I mean, it was like, three a.m., so I got up to-"

"To eavesdrop," David joked. Melody shot him a look, but smiled nonetheless.

"To _check on things_ ," she corrected defensively. "Seriously, though...to make a long, weird eavesdropping story short, it turned out to be my dad. He...he came back."

"No kidding?" her partner said, legitimately intrigued. Melody nodded.

"Seriously. And, I mean, from some of the things I overheard...it sounds like he's come back a few times. Mom actually sounded pretty pissed about all of it. Something about how he never stayed and she was always waiting around and she missed him and...she cried. It was…"

David waited for Melody to finish her sentence, and scrambled for something to say when she didn't.

"This...I mean, this is the-the father who...who walked _out_ on you guys?" It was all he could come up with.

Melody just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, I mean, that's the weird thing. Mom...she never really _talked_ about him, you know? But...from what I have heard, she should...she should hate him. She hates her father for betraying her mom, I don't…" she sighed again. "I just don't know. But you can understand why it's been bugging me...right?" She gave David a pleading look. He nodded.

"Yeah. Makes a lot more sense than not sleeping right." He smirked at her. She smiled slightly, but didn't laugh as he had hoped.

"Beating it to death, David."

"Sorry," he laughed. "So...why don't you just ask your mom about it?"

They stopped in front of the house; Melody stared at one of the upstairs windows intently as she considered his suggestion. It seemed like such an obvious solution, but...with a shake of her head, she sighed, "You know she wouldn't talk about it."

She continued dolefully walking toward the house. David followed.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Why don't you ask some of the rest of our family?"

Melody looked up from the textbook. She and David were sitting on the living room floor studying.

"Huh?"

"It was just a thought," he said. "I mean, if your mom won't talk about it, maybe my mom would. Or Aunt Liz. They might be able to help with...well...whatever it is you need help finding out."

Mel tapped her fingers on the floor while she she thought about how to respond to his somewhat random proposition. She uncrossed her legs and moved into a more comfortable position, leaning back and putting her hands behind her for support.

"I mean...I guess that might work, but…I mean, you kinda said it yourself; what am I even looking for?"

"Well…"

Maka and Tsubaki burst into laughter in the kitchen. The kids' attention snapped toward the sound; when they realized their mothers weren't talking about them, they turned back to each other. David leaned forward and lowered his voice.

"Well, I mean, and I'm not a psychiatrist, but what it looks like to me is you're just confused. You grew up thinking your dad abandoned you and suddenly he comes back and it turns out he's _been_ coming back to see you guys, I mean...that doesn't really sound like the deadbeat dad type, right?"

"Yeah but he's never there for long and he won't tell us why he's gone," she whispered back. "Like, what if he has another family now or something? You know?"

David nodded slowly, biting his lip in thought. "Yeah...but, I still think it's worth a try. It's gotta suck not knowing who your dad really is or what's going on with your family dynamic."

Melody half-shrugged and sat up straight again. "Yeah, kinda. I dunno, maybe you're right. I still have to figure out how to bring it up, though; it is kind of a sensitive topic."

David nodded. "I'm sure you'll figure it out, Mel; you're smart."

She smiled. "Thanks, David. Now we should probably really get back to this. I'm falling behind enough as it is…"

David smirked slowly. "Or…"

Mel's eyes grew wide. "Or...what?"

"We could study through _OSMOSIS!_ " he cried, knocking his partner down and playfully shoving the textbook in her face. She squealed.

" _DAVID I SWEAR TO GOD!"_ she yelled, attempting to wrestle him off of her and onto the floor.

Maka and Tsubaki peeked into the living room to check on their children. Tsubaki chuckled while Maka called out, "Kids! Please don't break anything!"

"No promises!" Melody laughed.

Maka couldn't help but smile. "They grow up so fast...and yet, it's like they haven't grown up at all," she added with a tired sigh. Tsubaki simply nodded in agreement.

* * *

Melody searched her mother's bookshelf for something to read. David had gone home with his mother, her own mom was out grocery shopping or something, and she needed to take her mind off her current situation. But which fictional world to get lost in…?

After several minutes of searching, a title on the top shelf caught her eye. She reached for it, standing on her toes, but still came up a few inches short.

"Ugh...apparently five-seven is still not tall enough," she groaned, looking around for some kind of assistance. She settled on dragging a kitchen chair to where she needed to stand; just as she was about to step onto it, however, she heard the back door open. She was starting to drag the chair back to the kitchen-her mother hated when she stood on them-when she heard Aunt Patty's distinct sing-song voice calling from the entrance.

"Helloooo!"

Hers was followed by Aunt Liz calling out, "Maka! Mel! You guys here?"

"I am!" Mel called back, putting the chair back in front of the bookshelf; Aunt Liz was more laid-back and lenient about little things like that, as aunts usually are. "Mom's out grabbing some groceries," she added. "She'll be back in a minute. What's up?"

Melody lifted herself onto the wooden chair as she spoke. She was just reaching for the book she had her eye on when she noticed what looked like a small leather binder laying on top of the bookshelf. It was covered in a thick layer of dust-which struck her as particularly odd, considering her mother was usually so insistent on keeping everything neat. Intrigued, she wiped off the dust on the cover. Beneath it, in gold script, was "Our Family."

A photo album…?

"And what exactly are you looking for up there?"

Mel looked down, where Aunt Liz and Aunt Patty stood watching her.

"Uhh…" she grabbed the book from the top shelf and stepped down off the chair. "Just this," she said, showing it to her aunt. Liz raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a little young for books like that?" she teased.

"Aunt Liz, I'm almost sixteen."

"Yeah, don't worry Liz, soon she'll be old like you!" Patty laughed. Liz glared at her sister.

"Hey, you aren't that far behind me, you know," she growled through a clenched jaw. Then, she turned back to Melody, her face softening. "Actually, that kinda reminds me...your birthday's coming up, isn't it, kid? What do you want?"

"Oh yeah, that's right..." Mel actually laughed at herself; all this stress had apparently gotten to her and she'd managed to forget her own birthday. "Well, um…I mean, I'm not really picky. Doesn't have to be anything expensive. More books are always a safe bet," she grinned, holding her mother's book to her chest. Liz chuckled and shook her head.

"You and your mom," she said. "Well, at least no one can say you're hard to buy for."

Another door opened, the front one this time, followed by the sound of paper grocery bags and Maka calling out "I'm home!"

"Hey, there you are, girly," Liz said, she and her sister going to give their old friend a hug. The Thompson sisters, while they did some babysitting for Maka and Tsubaki when the kids were young, didn't get to come around as often these days; with their partner being Lord Death, they were out on "official business" a lot.

"Hey mom, I'm gonna borrow one of your books, okay?" Melody said.

"Alright, don't damage it," Maka chimed. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice the out-of-place chair.

The three adults made their way into the kitchen, chatting excitedly. When the women were out of sight, Melody quietly climbed back on the chair, took the photo album, and climbed back down, placing the chair next to the bookcase-still not where it belonged, but at least nobody would trip on it.

Once safely in her room, Melody set the novel aside and wiped the rest of the dust off the cover of the photo album. Above the title was a small square photo of her parents, both much younger, holding an infant between them. The new parents were beaming, as if inexpressibly happy to be starting a life together.

Mel swallowed down the lump in her throat, her heart racing in response to a number of emotions-the thrill of doing something she wasn't supposed to, the fear of getting caught with something her mother obviously intended to keep secret, and the excitement of maybe, just maybe, finding some answers.

She seated herself cross-legged on her bed and stared at the picture on the cover. Her mother looked so proud, so eager...her father appeared on the verge of tears, he was so happy. They both looked so different from the fighting couple she'd seen several days earlier.

Taking a deep breath, unsure what exactly she would find, Melody began to flip through the laminated pages. The photos were in chronological order, starting with a few from her parents' days at the Academy-mostly silly group pictures including Aunt Tsubaki, Uncle Blackstar, Aunt Liz, Aunt Patty, and a boy who she somehow recognized to be Lord Death, undoubtedly before he had taken on the title. Then there were some from their wedding; a fairly small ceremony from the looks of it, but still full of love and laughter and plenty of smiles-including a kind of smile Melody hadn't seen on her mother in years.

The wedding photos were followed by a set of pictures from Maka's pregnancy, several of which showed Soul being absolutely overjoyed, one or two showing him actually in tears. A black-and-white photo, of Maka holding a newborn Melody while Soul knelt by the hospital bed grinning, took up an entire page.

She flipped through several more pages of her growing up, her father in almost every picture-teaching her to walk, attempting to feed her applesauce, reading her a picture book...she couldn't help but chuckle at the photo of the two of them passed out on the couch, an open book on the floor beside them.

She shook her head as she reached the last of the pictures-a family photo; it showed her and David, about six or seven years old, flanked by both sets of parents. She stared for some time at the right-hand side of the picture, where Soul had one arm around his daughter's shoulder, and the other around his wife's waist. All of the pictures showed a loving man, an involved and enthusiastic father, exactly the kind of person her mother would trust enough to marry, and not at all the kind of man who would just abandon his family. So how did they go from the picture-perfect family to the broken one with a deadbeat dad; the sob story that the whole city seemed to gossip about?

She glanced up at her bedroom door, listening for her mother. When her voice didn't move from the kitchen, she looked back down at the last family photo. A depressing thought entered her mind: what if the pictures weren't all they seemed? They seemed genuine enough, and she wanted to believe the fairytale story they told, but she knew as well as anyone that photos could lie. Still, she knew her mother, and she wouldn't have married a man that she didn't love and trust to her core. She wouldn't have chosen someone who would just abandon her...right?

Carefully, she took the picture out from behind the plastic, hiding the album between the mattress and the box spring.

She stared at it a few more seconds, and in those few seconds, she made a decision.

She was turning sixteen soon. It's supposed to be a big occasion, and it wouldn't be fair for her to have to celebrate that with the depressing knowledge that her family was broken. She wanted this picture-perfect family back.

She wanted her father back.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

The sun had begun to set, soft red and orange light shining through the kitchen windows, casting long shadows wherever it could reach. Melody scrubbed absently at the stove while her mother washed the dishes from that night's dinner. All she had been able to think about that afternoon was the photograph sitting in her pocket, and the million questions it raised.

She already had her heart set on finding her answers, bringing her father back, and putting her family back together...but how? And she was still burdened by the thought that he might not be the person she was imagining him to be. And the only person who would know for sure what kind of man he was, was rather reluctant to talk about it.

Melody glanced over at her mom, gauging her mood. Maka was humming under her breath as she made soapy circles on the dinner plates. The visit from the Thompson sisters seemed to have cheered her up; that meant this was Mel's best chance at talking to her mom without starting an argument.

"Hey, Mom," she began, looking back down at the stove, "I've got a question."

"What is it?" her mother asked brightly. Mel took a deep breath.

"Well...I was just wondering...what was Dad like? Before he left?"

Maka stopped scrubbing. Melody started to worry she had already gone too far, and braced for impact.

"Why do you want to know?" her mother finally asked. Melody's heart rate slowed and she let out a long sigh of relief; she hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath. She shook her head, starting to dry off the stove.

"Just curious, I guess."

Her mother nodded slowly. After a few more moments, the silence filled only by sloshing soapy water, Mel heard her mother take a deep breath.

"Well, I guess you're old enough to know. Your dad was...different. Or at least, I thought he was. We met when we were very young, and we were partners for most of our lives. I had...I guess you could call it a trust issue, from my own father, and your dad, well...he showed me that not all men were liars and cheaters." She chuckled. "I swear he adored you from the moment he knew you were coming."

Another deep breath. Melody had stopped wiping the stove down and turned toward her mother, truly surprised that she was opening up like this.

"And then one day," Maka continued, her voice starting to shake, "I woke up, and he was just gone. I thought maybe he'd gone to get some early groceries or something, but then I found the note on the door. 'I love you guys. Please wait for me.' I tried calling him for days. And eventually...well, I gave up." She looked over at her daughter with a strained smile, tears glossing over her eyes. "After a couple months with no contact, we had to, uh...we had to presume him..."

She choked on the final word; Melody still knew what she meant. She also knew her mother was lying to her, apparently unaware that Mel knew her father had returned before. Still, she didn't press the issue.

"So," her mother sighed, draining the sink, "I guess...he was a good man, at least as long as I knew him."

The look on her mom's face broke Mel's heart. She set her dish towel aside and gave her mother a hug; she had all the answers she needed now.

* * *

"Alright, Mom, I'm off to school," Mel said, pulling her hair into its usual lazy ponytail. She leaned over the back of the couch to hug her mother.

"Alright," Maka said, smiling and messing up the hair on the top of Mel's head.

"Mom!" She laughed; she took the ponytail out and redid it.

"What?" Maka teased. "Not like you ever put in the effort to actually brush it in place."

"Yeah, yeah," Mel said. She kissed her mother on the head and made her way to the door. "Love you, Mom."

"I love you too. Remember, back for dinner, okay?"

"Alright. See ya!"

When Mel stepped out the door, David was waiting for her in the driveway. She ran up to him and loudly whispered, "David, you are not going to believe this!"

David raised an eyebrow at her as they began walking down the street.

"Mom actually talked about Dad last night," she told him. "Like, for literally the first time in my life."

Both of David's eyebrows went up now. "You're kidding! Well, what'd she say?"

Mel relayed the conversation from the night before, the emotional description followed by a brief, hollow silence. All David could think to say for a moment was "whoa…"

They walked about another block in silence. It was warm out today; the Academy towered in the distance, the sun laughing idly behind it. Dozens of cars passed by, and just as many people filled the sidewalks. Mel caught swatches of conversations as she and her partner walked by, short glimpses into other people's lives, hints and reminders that everyone was fighting their own private battles. She couldn't help but wonder if she was alone in hers.

David was the first to speak again.

"My mom said something kind of similar. It took a little bit to get it out of her, but she said the same thing-he was a great partner, he would have given his life for your mom, almost did a few times...she said she was really shocked when he left. Dad didn't really say anything; Mom said they were best friends, so it hit him hard, too."

Mel could only shake her head. This was so much to take in all at once; and once she had wrapped her head around it, well...what was she to do with it?

"So...what now?" It always seemed like David was voicing her thoughts before she could. She pursed her lips and shook her head.

"I...I'm not sure. I think...I think I need to...you know...think."

David chuckled. "Yeah, I bet you do." He punched her shoulder playfully. "Well, when you think of something, let me know."

She laughed. "Of course."

* * *

Classes had been released for a break. A throng of students buzzed around the mission board in the hallway; it seemed a large portion of them needed a new one all at once. David stood amidst the crowd, searching the bulletin along with them. He tilted his head slightly toward Melody, who was leaning back against the wall, chewing off what little was left of one of her fingernails..

"Hey, what about this one?" he asked. "'Killer Clown Terrorizing Nova Scotia.' Sound interesting?"

Mel gave him a questioning look, a fingernail still between her teeth. "Canada?"

He shrugged. "Hey, we haven't been on a mission in weeks, I figured it'd be an easy enough place to start. Hey! You're doing it again!"

She raised her hands defensively before crossing her arms. David shook his head and stepped away from the crowd to stand in front of his partner. Putting his hands on his hips, he huffed.

"What's on your mind, Mel?"

She opened her mouth to instinctively spout one of her excuses, but stopped herself. _Great_ , she thought, _now I'm turning into a pathological liar_. With a sigh, she finally said, "Well...you remember the talk we had on the way here, right?" He nodded slowly-then tossed his head to get his hair out of his face. Shaking her head, she continued, "You told me to let you know when I think of something. Well, I thought of something."

The bell rang to signal the students to return to class. Mel ignored it; David looked up toward the sound and then back at his partner.

"What'd you think of?"

She looked to either side as though someone might be listening, and leaned in toward him. He leaned forward-and down-as she told him in a perhaps unnecessarily hushed tone, "I want to find my dad. I mean, now that I know pretty much for certain he's not some deadbeat douchebag...I just think maybe my mom and I would both be happier if, well, he would come back." Her voice trailed off as she finished the thought, realizing now that it probably sounded better in her head. David stood back up as the hallways emptied out.

"Find him?" he asked. "I mean...even if we had the time and the resources...where would we look? What would you say? Just…" he shook his head and rubbed his forehead. Mel pushed herself off the wall.

"I know, I know it sounds crazy, but, hear me out. That night that he came back and he was arguing with my mom, he said...he said he was being followed, and that whoever it was would hurt me and Mom and that's why he didn't come around."

"Mel, I hate to say it, but what if it was just an excuse? It's been eight years, who would still be chasing him?"

David's tone was the first thing to hit her; he wasn't usually very temperamental, especially not with her. His accusation upset her almost as much, but perhaps the worst was realizing he had a point. Nothing she knew was really for certain...that same suffocating fear gripped her heart again: what if she was wrong?

David sighed and visibly relaxed, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, hey, I'm sorry. That was...way uncalled for." His apology soothed her somewhat, but she still felt a residual ache. He continued, "But...I mean, even assuming that he was telling the truth...wouldn't the best option be to call the authorities, let them handle it?"

"They presumed him dead years ago," she said dejectedly. "Besides, we're DWMA students. We're the ones that go out and deal with all the stuff the police won't-or, can't. We've taken on all kinds of things that most people never see in their worst nightmares. We're strong enough to take it on ourselves." Her voice had become stronger, her native determination and willpower returning to her with the heartfelt sentiment.

David crossed his arms. "Alright," he said finally. "So, then, one problem remains. How do we find a man who doesn't want to be found?"

Mel took a moment to think. Determination and all, she had to admit, again, that he made a good point. As she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, she felt the folded-up photograph in the pocket of her jeans. She pulled it out and unfolded it for him to see, and she remembered the group picture of her parents when they were young, with Liz, Patty, Blackstar, Tsubaki…

And the boy who was now Lord Death.

"I think I've got an idea," she said finally. David looked at her in confusion. "Come on, follow me," she said, thrusting the picture into his hands and heading toward the Death Room.

"Wait, where are you going?!" he called. "Don't we have to get back to class?!"

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "You can go back to class if you want to, but _I_ have a father to find." And with that, she shoved her hands in her pockets and sauntered away. David stared after her, dumbfounded, torn between the genetic impulses of his mother and his father-to go back to class like a responsible student, or to ditch and follow his best friend?

He looked down at the photo she had given him. He vaguely remembered the day that picture was taken; it wasn't long before he and Melody had started going to school, and a couple of years before they found that they could partner up for the Academy.

She had been his best friend his whole life, the closest he ever had to a sister. All of his other friends kind of came and went, and neither he nor Melody had really delved into the dating scene yet. They had been there for each other through everything, every trial of growing up, every Kishin egg they'd faced; he promised to always protect her, not just because she was his meister, but because she was family.

With a groan, he turned and ran after her.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Mel's heart started to beat faster as the massive Death Room doors swung open, but she stubbornly maintained her calm facade. She was a girl on a mission just like any other. She found herself comforted by David's presence beside her-despite her show of being a no-nonsense tough-girl like her mother, she had secretly hoped he would decide to accompany her. After all, no matter how many times she had spoken with him, initiating a conversation with Death himself never really got any less nerve-wracking.

She took a deep breath and started down the hallway, her equally nervous partner following closely behind.

Lord Death was speaking with someone through the mirror when they arrived, flanked by the Thompson sisters. Mel and David waited respectfully at the threshold for him to finish; it looked like an intense conversation. Once the image in the mirror faded, he sighed deeply, then turned to face the two like he already knew they were there.

"Ah, Melody, David," he greeted them; they bowed. "I've been meaning to speak with you two." With a slight tilt of his head, he added, "What brings you in here, anyhow? Don't you have a class you should be attending?"

Melody stood and gulped. She hadn't really thought about how she was going to start this pitch... _well, too late now, I guess_.

"Actually, I have a...a favor...to ask...um…" she fought to find words fast enough while keeping from sounding like an idiot; she didn't feel she was doing very well so far. Aunt Liz looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Bracing her shoulders, Mel walked up to the base of the podium and looked up at Lord Death. "You knew my mother, right? You grew up together?"

He nodded hesitantly. "Of course."

Mel looked back at David for support. He gave her a small, encouraging smile, followed by a sort of nervous head tilt toward Lord Death, as if silently saying, "you really should get to the point now."

She gave David a small nod, then turned back to Lord Death, trying with all her might to call up that fearless resolve she had talked herself into earlier.

"Well, then I'm sure you remember when my father walked out?" she asked.

Liz and Patty gave each other surprised looks. David grimaced, but walked up to be next to his partner. He thought, if he was going to be here to support her; he may as well actually do so instead of standing nervously in the background.

Lord Death nodded slowly once more. "I do...Melody, what is this about?"

She straightened her back; this was it. "I know he's still alive and I want to bring him back." She said it all in one breath, a little too quickly in order to avoid hesitating mid-sentence. The Thompson sisters' shocked looks were directed at her now; David gave her one as well before looking apprehensively at Lord Death.

The headmaster stared at Melody for a bit.

"He's alive?" Liz blurted. Melody nodded, a little taken aback.

"Yeah, he's been coming back every so often for years. I saw him," she responded. Looking back and forth between her two aunts, she asked, "What? Mom never...told you guys?"

They both shook their heads. "No, she never told anyone," Patty said.

"Why wouldn't she tell any of her closest friends that her husband was still alive and coming around? I mean, that's kind of a big deal," Liz said, more to Patty than anything.

"Since when has anything my mother does made sense?" Melody muttered.

Lord Death shook his head. "Yes, well, while you may have a point there, let's get back to your...favor. You're telling me that S-your father...is alive. And you want to...what, exactly? I'm not sure I understand."

"Find him. A couple of weeks ago, I saw him come back home in the middle of the night." She told the story of that night again, her explanation becoming more emphatic as she recounted her father's confession about being followed. When nobody stopped her, she continued, "I talked to my mom, David talked to his...and I've decided I believe him. Lord Death, you knew my mother. Her decisions might not make a lot of sense all the time, but she wouldn't have decided to spend her life with someone she couldn't trust completely. I just…"

She looked back at David again. "Do you still have that picture?"

He nodded and handed it to her. She, in turn, handed it to Lord Death. He took it and examined it, and Liz and Patty peeked at it over his shoulders. Mel took a deep breath once more.

"I just want my family back," she said finally. "He was your friend, too, wasn't he?" she added, more quietly.

She could have been wrong, but she thought she saw his hand begin to shake. After a few more moments, he looked back up at Melody.

"So what favor are you asking, exactly?"

She thought about her wording this time. "You're Death," she said. "You have a lot of power over this city, and, well...over everything, kind of...I guess I was hoping you'd be able to find out where he is."

She and Lord Death stared at each other for what felt like some time, she silently willing her heartbeat to slow, and hoping against hope that he wouldn't turn her down-or think her a fool.

Finally, he turned back toward the mirror. "Alright. I'll help you. I'll keep an eye out for signs of him, but understand that I can't promise _anything_. Even if he is alive...well, he may have acted like it sometimes, but your father is no idiot."

Melody bowed as low as her spine would allow. "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed. She stood and looked at David with eyes overflowing with hope. Before she could turn to leave, David called, "Oh, wait. Lord Death, sir...you said you've been meaning to talk to us about something?"

He looked back over his shoulder. "Hm? Oh, yes, you two need to take on a mission. You're falling behind and I'm a little concerned, that's all. You can go."

David nodded, he and Mel bowed once again, and they turned to leave.

* * *

A cold breeze carried in the scent of the sea. Night had fallen on the small harbor town; it would have been clear, except that a dense oceanic fog had rolled in not long ago...

...which made it a little difficult to spot the killer clown.

Mel moved slowly, taking small steps, turning in circles and watching for the target. She held her partner, in chain scythe mode, at the ready. Except for her shaky breathing and the occasional distant wave crashing, it was completely silent.

Still, she found it incredibly difficult to focus on her mission tonight; normally, she was able to shut everything else out, focus all her energy on the mission and the mission alone. But tonight it was as if there were thousands of tiny circuits shorting throughout her brain-there didn't seem to be anything specific tugging at her mind, but it was distracting her anyway. And it was starting to really frustrate her.

" _Mel, look out!_ "

She spun around at David's warning and saw the glowing red eyes through the fog, just in time to jump out of the way of the massive claws coming at her. She slid backward on her heels a couple feet upon landing, tendrils of silvery hair flying around her face. The clown turned to meet Mel's gaze with a nightmarish grin, filled with dozens of sharp, bloodied teeth. The unholy giggling that emanated from it sent a shiver down her spine. But she wasn't about to run.

" _Let's finish this fast,_ " David said. Mel nodded once, planted her feet, bared her teeth, and raised her weapon for the attack.

She let out a shrill war cry as she charged the Kishin, leaping upward and connecting the blade with the monster's face. Mel landed back on the ground and turned to observe its next move; her stomach sank when she saw that instead of taking out both eyes as she had intended, she had only hit one-and now instead of being blind, it was just pissed.

It shrieked once more and charged Melody. She jumped out of the way, just barely dodging the gnarly fist that came down at her; it left a large spiderweb crack in the sidewalk, where she had been kneeling only moments ago. She didn't have time to catch her breath before the clown turned around and came after her once again.

Meister and Kishin continued in an intense dance of slashing, blocking, and parrying for another minute, Mel hoping and searching for an opportunity to attack without leaving herself open. David tried to yell suggestions and support to his meister, but the spine-chilling screeching coming from the Kishin overpowered him.

Finally, Mel was able to connect her boot with the top of the fiend's head, thrusting herself backward onto the roof of a nearby building. She knelt and gasped for breath, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket-who knew you could still sweat when it was this cold?

"Okay," she panted, "maybe we need a battle plan."

" _What'd I tell you?_ " David retorted.

"I'll drop you off this roof right now."

" _No you won't._ "

She sighed. "Seriously, though. We're gonna need to hit this guy a little heavier...and find a weak spot. God, he's freaking huge."

" _Well, I've got other weapon forms_."

Melody nodded absently, watching the gargantuan clown as it looked around for the missing girl. Finally, an idea popped into her head.

"Maybe we need some stealth, too," she said. "He still can't see us if he's turned around, right? So we sneak up behind him, Shuriken Mode at his head, and bam, we have another soul."

" _Sounds like a plan to me. You ready?_ "

She took another moment to breathe, then nodded. "Well, let's see how quietly I can climb down off a roof."

Once she was sure the Kishin wasn't watching her, Mel carefully stepped off the building and dropped onto the ground. The clown turned at the soft _plop_ of the girl's boots on the pavement; she ducked down and hurried off to the side, hiding in the fog.

After a minute or two hiding behind a stack of cargo boxes, Melody peeked out to check for the clown's position. The fog had thinned slightly, just enough for her to pick out the glint of a streetlight off his almost metallic claws. Following the silhouette upward, she determined it was finally facing away from them.

"Ready?" she whispered.

" _Ready_."

She stepped toward the Kishin, slowly, silently, keeping her breath as even as possible. God, it was cold. If she could just get within a couple yards of it…

Her mind began to wander as she kept her agonizingly slow pace. It had been days since Lord Death had agreed to aid Mel's search for her father, and they hadn't heard anything since. He was a busy man, she thought, maybe she should follow up with him…? Or would that be bothering him too much? How much longer would she have to wait?

" _Mel…?_ "

What if they never found him?

" _Melody?_ "

What if she really had dreamt everything? What if they were chasing a ghost?

" _MELODY!_ "

David's voice finally shook her back into reality, but it was too late. Something had given away their position; the Kishin was staring Mel down, vengeance burning in its one remaining eye. A sickening amount of blood obscured one half of its face, dripping down and joining the other blackened stains on its clothing. It let out an inhuman growl, freezing the meister in place.

"D-David, Shuri-"

Her command was cut off as that enormous clawed hand swung toward her, swatting her away like some bothersome bug. Her body collided with a brick building, the force leaving another crack in the wall, and she slid helplessly to the ground.

The attack left her severely winded; she spent what felt like minutes fighting to get her lungs to open, starting to panic when her vision remained blurry, and the only sound was a terrible ringing in her ears. Finally, just as she was thinking this might be the end, her lungs gave way, and she inhaled so deeply that the cold and the moisture in the air started a coughing fit.

"Melody! Come on, breathe!"

Her senses came back to her, mostly; the sound was still muffled, and she couldn't quite focus. She could make out David kneeling in front of her, desperately shaking her by the shoulders, a terrified look just visible through his hair. Then she spotted the Kishin-well, three copies of it now-coming up from behind him.

She couldn't quite get a sound out, but her expression must have tipped him off, because he put her arm around his neck and half-carried her to a safer spot before the clown could continue brutalizing them. He set her down again and once again grabbed her shoulders.

"Mel, we've got to get out of here."

She shook her head. "No, we can't...we can't just run!"

He put his hands on either side of her head. "We have to, Mel! You're in no position to fight now; if that thing hits you again, you're done for, and I _cannot_ let that happen!"

"The...the Uncanny Sword...it's powerful enough."

"No. You're too weak right now. It's too dangerous."

She managed to lift her arm enough to grab the collar of his jacket. "That's a risk we'll have to take," she said. Fear and frustration brought tears to his eyes.

"Mel, no-"

"David." She held eye contact. "Uncanny Sword mode."

He swallowed. With one final glance at the Kishin coming toward them, he did as he was told.

Mel felt the power of the sword bolt through her as soon as she touched it; it was difficult just to hold on to it. But she had a mission to finish. She forced herself to stand, supporting herself with the wall behind her.

 _I'm better than this_ , she thought. _I am the daughter of Maka and Soul Evans. Legendary meister-weapon pair…_

 _Soul Evans…_

"Mom, Dad…" she muttered, as though her parents would hear her even from thousands of miles away, "I will not fail."

As she stared down the massive clown in front of her, she growled, "Your soul is mine."

The meister's battle cry and the Kishin's horrendous screeching turned people's blood cold for miles. Then, just as suddenly, all fell silent. The fog finally began to disperse, leaving the star-studded night sky visible once more.

* * *

Mel opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. The daylight coming through the familiar infirmary windows was too bright for her to handle.

"Hey, you're awake."

She painstakingly opened one eye. David stood next to her bed, hands on the mattress and staring at her worriedly.

"What...what happened?" she croaked, making a terrible noise trying to clear her throat afterward.

"We won," he said. "We beat the Kishin...barely. Right after we killed it, you just kind of...collapsed." He sat down in the chair next to the bed. Mel could feel herself sort of coming back into her body, making weak fists and shifting her legs to make sure she still had feeling. Her eyes adjusted to the light, and she went to sit up in her bed. David rushed over to help her. "Hey, hey, don't hurt yourself now," he said. "Your mom came to see you, by the way."

She put a hand to her head; the stress of sitting up made it start throbbing. "Where is she now?" she asked.

"Bathroom, I think. She should be back any-"

"Melody!" Maka, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, rushed over and pulled her daughter into a suffocating embrace.

"Hi, Mom," Mel choked out. "Missed you, too."

Her mother released her and started checking her temperature, brushing her hair away from her face, and generally fussing.

"Mom, I promise I'm fine. See, conscious, coherent, little banged up but otherwise okay." Mel's reassurances didn't soothe her mother, who began babbling on about the possibility of a concussion, a damaged spine, cracked skull, other broken bones…

Mel looked over at David with a "please for the love of God help me" look; he could only try to keep from laughing.

"What happened out there?" her mother asked. "That shouldn't have been a very difficult mission."

"Yeah...guess I was just...kind of out of it. Wasn't as focused as I was supposed to be." Mel remembered the worries that had impeded her concentration-near-fatally, it seemed. The longer she went without news of her father, the more it weighed on her mind, although, she supposed, she really shouldn't have let it get to her that night. Especially when her and her partner's lives were in the balance…

Mel looked over at David. "How long was I out?"

"Not long," he shrugged, "little over a day." She nodded slowly, then looked back at her mother and forced a smile.

"Don't worry about me, Mom," she said. "I'm gonna be just fine. Thank you for coming to see me, though."

Maka smiled and gave Mel a hug. "You don't have to thank me, Mel. It's kind of my job."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

David made his way up to the front door of Mel's house, hands in his pockets. It was windy today; the number of times he had to push his hair out of his face had actually made him consider cutting it again.

Mel had been more depressed than usual since the Nova Scotia mission a few days ago; in fact, for the last two days she hadn't even bothered going to class-causing a few arguments between her and her mother. David was becoming increasingly worried about his partner, to the point that he had decided to skip class himself to come check on her.

He pressed the button for the doorbell and waited. Mel was reluctant to talk about what was affecting her so badly, as she usually was, but as usual, he knew exactly what it was. He'd been thinking for days about how to get her out of her slump. And out of her house...

Maka opened up the door slightly; David awkwardly smiled and waved at her. She opened the door the rest of the way and smiled gently, hands on her hips.

"David, you know you don't have to ring the doorbell or anything; you live here just as much as me and Mel."

David chuckled nervously and stepped into the house. "Yeah, I guess I just...wasn't thinking. So, where is Mel anyway?"

Maka sighed. "In her room. I haven't been able to get her out of bed for almost two days." She turned from the door and crossed her arms. "She won't talk to me at all; I have no idea what's going on. David...do you know anything about this?"

He tried to steady his heartbeat. Mel hadn't told her mother what she knew about her father. He didn't understand why she didn't want her mom to know, but he was certain Mel would never forgive him if he told her mom himself. He turned to face Maka.

"She won't talk to me, either," he said. "I'm just hoping I can get something out of her today."

Maka narrowed her eyes slightly at him as he tried to keep from looking guilty. Finally, she shook her head and stepped away from the door.

"Alright. Well, hopefully she'll talk to you," she said, ruffling his hair. "And maybe convince you to get a haircut…"

As she walked away, he heard her mutter something about being a terrible mother. He sighed, wishing he could help her, too. As he made his way to Mel's room, he hoped that Maka had actually believed he didn't know anything; after all, it wasn't a complete lie-she really wouldn't talk to him. His mother had always told him he was a terrible liar. He just didn't have it in him.

He remembered something disturbing as he reached Mel's door: her mother could see souls. Maybe he was being paranoid, but it certainly felt like she'd been looking into his.

Hopefully souls didn't show when someone was lying.

He knocked on the door gently as he opened it. "Mel?"

She was laying on her side, facing away from the door.

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" she muttered.

"Aren't you?"

She lifted her head slightly, then groaned as she turned her entire body to face him. She opened her mouth to say something, stopped, and finally laid her head on one of her many pillows.

"Smartass."

A smirk briefly appeared on his face. He shook his head and knelt down next to her bed, propping his chin on the edge of her mattress. He stuck his tongue out at her; she couldn't help but laugh.

He smiled and crossed his arms on the bed, resting his head on them. "I'm worried about you, Mel. I haven't seen you this depressed since your favorite band broke up two years ago."

"We don't talk about that," she said, half-jokingly. David laughed, then his face turned serious once more.

"Come on, Mel. Talk to me. This is about your dad, isn't it?"

She sighed and hid her face in the pillow. He reached up to rub her back.

"Aw, Mel...don't worry, I'm sure he'll-"

She muttered something into the pillow.

"Huh?"

She turned to face him again and huffed. "It's been weeks."

"It's...been nine days."

"I think maybe you were right," she sighed, as if she hadn't heard him. "Maybe I did dream the whole thing."

"I never said you dreamt it. I believe you when you say you saw him; I just wasn't sure he was telling the truth about being followed. Geez, Mel, you've really been overthinking this."

She didn't respond.

"Hey. Why don't we go see Lord Death? He might have a lead."

She perked up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah!"

She leaped out of bed so fast it actually startled him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Two days locked in her room, barely moving, and then she was up, dressed, and out the door in less than a minute. David stood and ran a hand through his hair as he followed her. "What the hell is up with girls?" he muttered.

* * *

Melody ran into the Death Room and stopped just shy of the platform to bow. David followed a ways behind her, a little worse for wear than her.

Lord Death looked surprised to see them. "I was just about to call for you two."

"Yes, David told me you might have a lead," Mel said breathlessly. Lord Death raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. Instead, he turned and walked up to the mirror.

"More than a lead," he said. "We found him."

Her and David's eyes grew wide, and they both ran onto the platform to look in the mirror. Sure enough, there was Soul, pacing around a grungy hotel room. His hair was still damp from a shower, hanging just above his shoulders. He looked tired, exhausted even, and his clothes were unkempt, but it was definitely him.

Melody started to reach out toward the mirror, as if she could embrace her long-lost father through it. She looked up at the headmaster. "Where did you find him?"

"Surprisingly, right here in Death City. I'm not sure how long he's been here, or how long he'll stay. But we will bring him back."

Mel nodded absently. She had laid in bed for the last two days, given up hope of ever seeing her father again, and here he was. She hadn't dreamt it. He was alive, and he was right here, in the same city, right under their noses.

There was hope after all.

With tears in her eyes, she turned and bowed again to Lord Death. Then, emotions raging, and perhaps against her better judgment, she threw her arms around him. "Thank you. Thank you so much!"

Lord Death stood stunned for a moment, David looking scared-and embarrassed half to death-behind him. To David's relief, however, a small smile made its way onto Lord Death's face, and he awkwardly pat Mel on the head.

"Of course," he said. "Now, you two ought to make your way back to class, and please, let the authorities handle this. I'll let you know when we get him."

Mel stepped back and nodded, bowing one more time before starting for the door. Lord Death looked over at David.

"Strange," he said, "I don't recall telling you I had a lead."

David could only laugh nervously and shrug. Lord Death shook his head and chuckled, sending the boy on his way.

* * *

Melody sat on her bed flipping through the photo album she'd stored under her mattress. She had only vague memories of the events in the pictures, and yet, she found them comforting. She had suffered through a nauseating combination of anxiety, excitement, and impatience since the news of her father's reappearance; ever since seeing him in that mirror, she had been waiting restlessly to hear that he was finally home.

She glanced at the clock for the forty-eighth time. It was getting late. Why hadn't she heard anything yet? It shouldn't take that long to get a man out of a dingy hotel, right? She shook her head and looked back at the pictures, nervously gnawing on a fingernail again. She really needed to work on this patience thing.

She heard her mother's footsteps nearing her door; she fluidly placed the photo album back under the mattress and swapped it for the novel she had borrowed from her mom. Her door opened only a moment later.

"I'm heading to bed, sweetie," Maka said softly. "Don't stay up too late, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mom. 'Night."

"Goodnight. I love you."

"Love you too."

Maka smiled and shut the door quietly. Melody waited a moment before setting the novel aside and retrieving the album again. It felt like an eternity had passed several times, but every time she glanced at the clock again, it had only been a minute or two. She actually found it incredibly frustrating. _Father Time really needs to get off his ass,_ she thought.

The clock read 10:45. She sighed and looked back down at the album. She turned a page and it made the satisfying crackling noise that thick, cellophane-covered pages do. As she looked through the pictures she had seen a hundred times, she thought about the story her mother had told her, about a good, loving man who one day just walked out. She couldn't help but wonder-what set it off? She remembered him saying he was being followed, but...how did he know? Why would he just suddenly leave instead of talking to his wife first?

 _More and more questions every day,_ she thought grudgingly. She supposed she'd have those answers as well soon enough. And maybe one day stop coming up with even more questions...she really was good at stressing herself out. She looked back up at the clock again.

10:46.

With a frustrated groan, she closed the photo album and slid it back under her mattress. She was tired of waiting. It shouldn't take this long to retrieve her father; she was almost certain there was some bureaucratic bullshit holding it up. Her birthday was just over 24 hours from now. Lord Death said himself he wasn't sure how long her dad would still be in the city, and there was no time for red tape. _If you want something done…_

Mel moved as quickly as she could while still being quiet; open the closet door gently, mind the creaky floorboard...she tied her hair up like usual, pulled on a dark hoodie and the first pair of jeans she found, and slipped on a pair of boots (which she had noticed were not dissimilar from the ones her mother wore in her youth). Finally, she stuffed a switchblade in her back pocket-just in case.

She eased her bedroom door open and looked around, listening to be sure her mother had actually gone to bed. She closed the door, keeping the knob turned so the latch wouldn't click. Her mother was asleep, but she had always been somewhat of a light sleeper, so, better safe than sorry.

She turned off the light, carefully opened the window next to her bed and pushed the screen out. She looked back at the clock one last time, and a thought occurred to her: as tough as she may be, it still wasn't safe to be walking around a city at night alone. She wondered if David would still be awake.

Well, either way she would have to hurry. She lifted up her hood and climbed out the window, careful to close it from the outside before leaving.

The walk to David's house wasn't long, only a couple of city blocks. Still, normally Mel would have taken a shortcut-the use of a couple of alleyways and jaywalking across a semi-busy street shaved a minute or two off the trip; however, given that it was dark and her anxiety was already higher than normal, she opted for the long way instead.

It was quiet tonight; she only saw a few other people ambling along in the dark, and none of them seemed like particularly shady characters. She couldn't help but notice, though, that the streetlights somehow made the night-shrouded city even more eerie. Her mind wandered, her heart raced audibly, and she began to doubt this decision. As usual, she had not thought this through. Why hadn't she just stayed in bed? How was she going to pull this off?

She shook her head and shoved her hands in her hoodie pocket. She was _not_ going to back out now. She would find a way-she always did.

Besides...that window was harder to climb into than it was to climb out of.

The familiar silhouette of her partner's house appeared just down the street. She picked up her speed to a jog and climbed over the four-foot fence with ease. She stopped to wonder whether she had gotten too good at this sneaking thing over the course of her adolescence.

Every light in the house was off, except for the one in David's room. She smirked. Of course he was still awake. She pulled her hood down, watching for prying eyes, and went to tap on the window.

The curtain moved just enough to reveal one slightly frightened blue-green eye. Mel gave him a ridiculous grin. The curtain moved to the side and David opened his window with an incredulous look on his face.

"Mel, what are you doing here? It's almost midnight! And...we kind of have a door for a reason."

She waved off his concerns. "Ehh, minor details. Hurry up and come with me!"

"Mel, you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"Just trust me for five seconds, won't you?"

"Yeah, last time I trusted you and snuck out past curfew, we got escorted back home _by the police_. I still haven't heard the end of that one."

"Come _oooonnnnn_ ," she whined, agitatedly bouncing on the balls of her feet. "We won't be gone long, I swear. I have a specific goal in mind this time; we'll be back before our folks even know we're gone."

David frowned intensely, almost glaring. Mel smiled sweetly at him. He groaned and yanked the curtain shut; a few moments later his bedroom light went off and he appeared at the window again, in a dark blue sweater and baggy jeans. He jumped down lithely and closed the window.

"Alright," he said, "now can you tell me why we're sneaking out dressed like criminals?"

She pulled her hood back up and started back toward the street.

"We're going hunting," she said.

He gave her a strange look as he followed her over the fence. "Hunting? For what?"

"You'll see."

He shook his head and followed behind her silently. After about a block or so, he came up next to her.

"Okay, seriously, where are we going?"

She turned her head toward him, the top half of her face concealed in shadow. She looked at him for a moment, then turned her head back and stared straight ahead.

"Toward the edge of town," she said simply. David looked confused for a moment, then his expression contorted into mild horror.

"The ghetto?! You are dragging me to the _ghetto_ in the middle of the night? For what?!"

She adjusted her hoodie uncomfortably. He stopped as the realization dawned on him. "Mel, is this about your dad again?"

She turned around to face him, but couldn't look him in the eye. She had started to shiver, but she wasn't sure if it was the temperature or the adrenaline. David didn't even wait for an answer; he already knew.

"Damn it, Melody! Lord Death told us _explicitly_ to sit tight and wait for the authorities to get him! Are you seriously just going to ignore _Death himself?!_ "

"David, we don't know how long he's going to stick around and there's no time-"

"Mel, Lord Death already has an eye on him, he can track him now! I mean," he threw his arms out in exasperation. "Jesus, what the _fuck_ are you thinking?!"

Mel gritted her teeth to keep from crying. David had never been prone to anger, so the rare occasions where they did argue were especially heartbreaking. She didn't have a good answer for him, either, which only made his outburst more painful. The wind picked up for a brief moment, pulling her hood back down; she made no effort to fix it.

She hung her head; a few strands of silver floated around her face as she tried desperately to swallow down the lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry." She finally forced out the words, but they were barely audible. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I just...you know how important this is to me." She turned away from him. "I just want my family back. And I was hoping I wouldn't have to go it alone," she muttered as she started to walk away from him.

Only a moment later, she heard a muffled yell.

"David?" She turned around and was met with the sight of her partner behind held by a shadowy figure-the man held a rag to David's face with one hand, and a syringe in his neck with the other. David fell unconscious only moments later.

Mel went to run, but was gripped by another assailant. She tried to scream but found her mouth and nose covered with a damp rag. A nauseatingly sweet scent filled her nose and coated her mouth, and eventually, she became so weak and light-headed that she barely felt the needle inserted in her neck.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

The first thing Melody became aware of was the nausea. Her stomach churned and twisted violently, and she silently prayed that she wouldn't puke. She would honestly rather die; the sensation was the most horrible thing she'd ever experienced.

The next sensation to return was sound. There wasn't much to be heard, though, except for a man's hushed voice, and then footsteps on concrete. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, the blackness giving way to a dim light. She felt cold, her mouth was dry, and she ached all over. There was a cold, hard surface beneath her. Where the hell was she?

She blinked the bleariness out of her eyes, and saw only a concrete wall. She glanced around, her heart rate jumping as she took in her surroundings: she was in a large, damp concrete cellar. There were a couple of crates in the corner of the room, a set of wooden stairs, and an ancient-looking lightbulb hanging from the ceiling; other than that, it was completely barren.

A movement to her right caught her eye. There was a support beam maybe six feet away from her, and tied to its base was David. He was fully awake, and he looked terrified. His hair was horribly unkempt, and he had been gagged by a white paisley-patterned bandana, knotted at the base of his skull. His eyes widened as they met hers.

She tried to call out to him, but all that came out was a muffled cry. She, too, had been gagged. She struggled to move, finding that she had also been tied to a post.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to join us!"

Her heart stopped. Footsteps approached, and the owner of the taunting voice knelt in front of her. He was a greasy, gangly, unshaven man who appeared to be in his mid-thirties. His hair was, quite literally, dirty blonde; it looked like he hadn't bathed in weeks...and he smelled like it, too. She could smell his breath even from a couple feet away-and the stench of perpetual morning breath and alcohol did nothing for her turning stomach.

He reached toward her face with a filthy, gnarled hand. She flinched away, but he simply grabbed the gag and pulled it down around her neck. She was shaking with fear, but her pride wouldn't let her show it; she channeled it into anger instead.

"Who the hell are you?" she demanded. "And what do you want with us?"

"Ooooh, she's feisty!" The man stood and laughed a chilling laugh. "Ohh, where _have_ my manners gone?" He made a sweeping bow. "My name is Liam. And this handsome gentleman over here," he gestured to a large, rough looking fellow on the other side of the room, "is my brother Isaac."

Liam leered at Mel. "Not that it matters...you're not going to be around long enough to need to remember."

She swallowed down the bile in her throat. She began making mental notes of her restraints, trying to plan her escape. Her wrists were tied behind her with rope, her ankles were tied separate from her hands, and another separate length of rope was coiled around her torso, attaching her to the support beam. _These guys are just as stupid as they look…_

"If you wanted to kill us, why didn't you just do it on the street? Why go to all the effort of drugging and kidnapping us?" Her eyes flicked around the room, gauging each of the men, thinking up a battle plan. She'd have to get herself and David out without being noticed.

Liam chuckled darkly. "Ohh, because you see, it's not time yet. Getting hold of you was only the beginning."

Mel subtly felt her way up to her pocket. If she could just get her knife under her wrist restraints…

"You see, Melody...you're not really the one I'm after. You just happened to get, well…"

Shit. Her knife was gone.

"...caught up in the crossfire."

Suddenly, it clicked. It all made sense now. She looked up, gaze switching from Liam to his brother and back.

"You're after my dad," she breathed. Liam nodded, with that smarmy grin of his.

"Smart girl. Well, technically I'm after both of your parents, but-"

"You bastard, _you_ tore apart my family!" Her eyes burned with the beginnings of tears. "And for what? What did they ever do to you?!"

Liam was in front of her before she could even finish her sentence, grabbing her face. "Don't you fucking talk to me about tearing apart families!" he spat. Mel caught the web between his finger and thumb between her teeth and bit down hard; he yelled some choice swearwords and jumped backward. She tasted blood, and while it made her incredibly queasy, it also gave her a sick kind of satisfaction.

Out of nowhere came an awful sting to the left side of her face. Her ear started to ring as the pain radiated through most of her head. An outright slap to the face was not a sensation she was familiar with...and once the shock wore off, she was really pissed.

She lifted her head slowly to glare at Liam, teeth bared and spotted with his blood.

"Beat me all you want," she growled. "I've gone up against things even nastier than you, and I kicked their _asses_. Far as I'm concerned, you're just another filthy Kishin egg to add to my collection."

Liam looked over at the burly man standing guard over David. They raised their eyebrows almost simultaneously, and then they both started to laugh. Isaac's laugh was more like a dark chuckle, much more understated than his brother's maniacal guffaw.

"Kishin egg!" Liam was almost doubled over in laughter. Mel shared a confused look with her partner, then looked back up at Liam. Laughter dying down, he knelt in front of Mel once more, at a greater distance than before. "Oh, that was a good one. Kishin egg. Didn't your daddy tell you?"

Her face registered somewhere between confusion and terror, but she tried to hide the latter. He started to reach out toward her, then seemed to change his mind. He gave her another creepy, lopsided grin instead.

"You see, sweetheart...me and Isaac, we've never touched a human soul in our lives. We're all human, baby."

It took her a moment to register what he had just told her. She had wondered for so long why her parents, legendary meister-weapon pair, hadn't just vaporized these guys. If they weren't Kishin, then ethically, hell, morally, they _couldn't_ kill them. Which meant even if she could get herself and David free, they couldn't simply kill their captors, either. Even done in self-defense, there would be an outcry and legal proceedings…

The realization must have shown on her face, because Liam erupted into laughter again. Mel sat helplessly as he strolled to the back of the room. Shit, what was she going to do? She wracked her brain for backup plans, loopholes, any kind of half-assed idea that could get her and her partner out of here safely.

Liam returned with a Polaroid camera. He fidgeted with something on it, then pointed it at Mel. "Smile!"

She turned her face away from the flash, trying to get her hair to cover her face. There were a couple more flashes, then Liam knelt down and grabbed her chin-careful to make sure she couldn't bite him this time-and forced her to look toward him. "Come on, sweetheart, work with me."

"And why should I? You sick son of a bitch."

He smirked and looked over at Isaac. "I told you he'd come in useful," he said, nodding toward David.

Mel looked over in horror. Isaac lumbered up to David, smirked, and kicked him in the gut. She screamed as David coughed and fought to catch his breath. Isaac paid no mind and him again. Liam laughed as tears streamed down Mel's face.

"Go ahead, take him off the beam!" Liam called. "I wanna watch him squirm."

David's torturer chuckled as he pulled out a shimmering hunting knife. He sliced easily through the rope holding David to the support beam; as soon as David was free, Isaac grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up to his feet. Mel screamed for him to stop, but to no avail. He threw David to the ground; with his hands tied he had no way to break his fall, and there was a sickening _crack_ as the side of his face connected with the concrete.

Mel was mortified. "David?" Her partner didn't answer her. " _David?!_ You sons of bitches, you killed him!"

Isaac nudged the boy with his foot.

"Please tell me you didn't _actually_ kill him, you _moron_ ," Liam hissed. Isaac shook his head and grunted, "Nah. Still breathing."

Mel broke down into sobs. "Alright, fine, whatever you want. Just please, for God's sake, leave him alone…"

Liam squatted down next to Mel and lifted the camera up. In the most infuriatingly mocking voice, he said "Smile!"

* * *

Maka woke up in a cold sweat and immediately reached to turn on the bedside lamp. She breathed heavily as she looked around the room, reorienting herself with reality. She was no stranger to nightmares-she'd even gotten so used to them that she could usually go right back to sleep after ascertaining that it was only a dream.

Still, this one was different from her adolescent dreams about failing classes, or even the later ones about losing battles, friends, her husband...hell, she couldn't remember the last time she had a nightmare quite this vivid. She tossed her covers to the side and headed for the kitchen. A quick cup of tea ought to calm her down.

It was still dark outside; the kitchen clock read a quarter to four. She sipped at a cup of chamomile for a while, letting it wash away the remnants of the dream. It soothed her just as she'd hoped, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was...off. She couldn't place the issue, though; she just had a feeling.

She finished off her cup and left it on the table to check around the house. She wandered around for a good ten minutes, checking the door and window locks and making sure nothing was missing. Once she had finished her inspection, finding nothing out of the ordinary, she simply shook her head and asked herself what the hell had gotten into her.

It was definitely time to get back to bed. Just out of habit, she went to Mel's room to check on her. She turned the knob and pushed the door open slowly, so as not to wake her daughter. She peeked in through the opening, let her eyes adjust to the darkness.

She squinted. The bed was still made, but Mel wasn't there. She opened the door all the way and flicked on the light. "Mel?"

Her heart stopped. Her daughter was nowhere to be seen. Immediately she began running through all the rooms in the house; she knew she had just done a thorough inspection of the house, but now she was hoping against hope that she had missed something. Her panic became worse with each failed search, and her calls for Mel became louder with each one.

Finally, she found herself standing in her living room, clutching the front of her gown and breathing heavily.

"Mel?! _Melody?!_ "

When she still got no answer, she ran into her room and got dressed faster than she ever had. She grabbed her keys and sprinted out of the house while still putting her jacket on. She made the couple-block trip to Tsubaki's house in less than a minute, her unbrushed hair flying in the chilling wind.

She knocked on the door way harder than she should have. Tsubaki answered the door a minute later, dressed in a robe and still half-asleep. "Maka? What…"

"Did Mel come over here?" She said it so quickly it almost came out as one word. Tsubaki blinked a few times and shook her head.

"No...I don't think so. Why?"

Maka put her head in her hands, holding back tears now. Tsubaki began to panic.

"Maka, what's going on? Come in here, it's cold out."

Maka broke down as soon as she stepped in the door. "She's gone! Mel, I went to check on her and she's just gone!" The end of her sentence faded into sobs. Tsubaki pulled her into a hug and attempted to comfort her.

Black*Star ran out of the bedroom in a battle stance. "Tsubaki, what's-Maka? What are you doing here? What's wrong?"

"She says Melody's missing," Tsubaki said. "She went to check on her and she can't find her. Do you know if maybe she came here for some reason?"

He shook his head. "No, someone would have noticed."

"Ask David?"

He nodded and went to find his son. Tsubaki continued trying to calm her friend; she had just gotten Maka to sit down on the couch and was about to go make some tea when Black*Star came running.

"David's gone, too!"

Maka shot back up onto her feet, and Tsubaki turned white.

"He...he's _what_?"

"Same thing, I went to wake him up and he's gone!"

The girls exchanged horrified looks.

"Where could they have gone?" Tsubaki was trying to keep from crying, too now. Maka couldn't answer; her heart was beating in her throat and she could barely breathe. The air became thick with a piercing silence.

"Come on guys," Black*Star said as he headed back into his bedroom. Tsubaki looked confused.

"Where are we going?"

"To the only other person that might know," he called. He came back out fully dressed and looked between the two of them. "Tsu, go get dressed. We have no idea how long they've been gone; we have to find them as soon as possible."

"But...should we maybe wait? I mean, they are teenagers. Maybe they just…"

Maka shook her head. "No, I don't think they just snuck out for fun this time. I just...I have a feeling."

Tsubaki nodded once, then hurried into the bedroom to change.

* * *

Soul groaned as he lifted himself off the creaky motel bed. There was no way he was getting to sleep tonight. The walls were paper thin and the bed may as well have just been bare springs. He walked around to the beaten up dresser opposite the bed and picked up the wallet lying on top of it.

He opened it for what must have been the fifteenth time that night. Inside a plastic sleeve was a picture of Maka, beaming as she held a baby Melody. He had taken it with him when he left all those years ago, and he carried it around everywhere, just to remind himself what he was doing all this for.

What he wouldn't give just to hold them again…

He closed the wallet and put it in his back pocket. He really had to get out of here now. He'd already stayed here far too long. He had left the day after seeing Maka, almost three weeks ago, but all he could think about was the glimpse he had caught of his daughter. Just seeing how old she had gotten, realizing how long he had really been gone, had drawn him back home again. It made him realize just how sick he was of running, and how much he hated not being able to see his daughter grow up, not being able to hold his wife.

He pushed those thoughts into the back of his mind. Here soon the notes were going to start again. It didn't matter where he went, they always knew where he was. He would eventually find a taunting note, taped to his door, slid underneath it, even on his bike once-he'd left it in a storage unit in Utah after that; it really was kind of a dead giveaway.

He checked one more time to make sure he had his keys and his wallet and headed out the door. A small manila envelope, addressed to him, was taped to the door. He sighed. Of course. He ripped it off the door and went to check out.

Once outside, he went to throw the envelope away; they always said some variation of "I see you" or "You can run..." Then he noticed that this envelope was not only a different kind-the other ones had all been basic stationery envelopes-but it was thicker. There was more than just a piece of paper in it.

His curiosity won out, and he opened it. He all but stopped breathing.

Inside were photos of Melody. Picture after picture of his daughter, bound and bruised, with tears streaming down her face. Some of them included a disheveled man, grinning and making other stupid faces. Soul's hands shook with rage as he pulled out a lone piece of paper. He closed the envelope, and started at a sprint down the street, leaving his new, more inconspicuous motorcycle in the parking lot.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

As soon as they got to Lord Death, Maka, Tsubaki, and Black*Star all started speaking at once. He stared between the three of them anxiously, unable to get a word in. Liz and Patty stepped in front of him.

"Everybody _shut up!_ " Patty shouted. The room went silent; she nodded triumphantly.

"Alright," Liz said, "now, one at a time. What in the world is going on here?"

They all looked at one another, then Tsubaki nudged Maka forward. She took a shaky breath.

"The kids...they're missing. I went to check on Mel and she was gone, so I headed to Tsubaki and Black*Star's house to look for her, and, well, I guess David is gone, too." She had long since stopped trying to hold back the tears. All she could do was wipe them away as they came. "We have no idea where they might be or even how long exactly they've been gone, but, I just...I just know there's something wrong."

Lord Death looked just as confused as they were at first. And then his face fell. He turned and strode up toward the mirror, muttering "I know exactly where they went."

All the eyes in the room were suddenly focused on him.

"You do?" Tsubaki and Black*Star asked simultaneously, holding onto each other.

An image appeared in the mirror, one that they all recognized immediately.

"Soul?!"

"They must have gone looking for him," Lord Death said. "I told them to stay back. Damn!"

"She...she knew?" Maka whimpered. "But…"

"Yes," he sighed. "She knew."

By the look on Soul's face, the panic in his strides, Lord Death knew that the kids must be in trouble. As he followed Soul's movements in the mirror, he couldn't help but think that this was his fault. He couldn't help it if she defied him, but...if he had just told her there was nothing he could do, her father was gone, go back to class…

Deep down, though, he knew it wouldn't have done any good. There were two reasons he had agreed to help her: because Soul was his friend and would have done the same for him, and because he had seen Maka's determination and heart in Melody. If he hadn't helped, she'd have found a way anyway.

As he saw Soul reach his destination-a storm cellar behind an old church-he turned with a sweep of his coat.

"Follow me. We need to hurry. Liz, Patty, contact the police chief, let him know what's going on."

The strength and willpower he'd seen in Melody that day was impressive. She wasn't the kind of girl who would go down easily. Still, he knew better than anyone that her youthful stubbornness, and her connection to Soul, could get her killed. And if David was with her, which he almost certainly was, then he could get himself killed trying to save her.

* * *

Mel had all but given up hope. David had regained consciousness, sustained a few more good kicks to the ribs, and been knocked out again once. She had been removed from the support beam and had taken a couple of hits to the face over the last...God, how long had she been down here? She'd already lost all concept of time, had run out of energy to cry any more, and was about ready to accept her fate.

And then there was a startling creak. A cold breeze swept the room, carrying the scent of fresh air. The stairs practically screamed under the weight of someone's footsteps. Mel lifted her head; who could be…

"Dad?!" She felt all of the hope that had drained out of her well up in her chest again. Was she about to be rescued?

"Alright, you persistent bastards," he said. "It's been eight years and you finally got me. Now let Mel and David go."

Liam looked over at Melody, then at her unconscious partner, and then up to Isaac. They shared identical lazy, greasy grins that made Melody sick. The two men turned their smarmy expressions to Soul.

"I don't think so," Liam said. Before Soul or Melody could question him, he grabbed Melody by her hair and dragged her to her feet. She cried out in pain, while her father cried out in shock. Instinctually, Mel started to fight her captor; but the click of a slide and the cold pressure of a gun to her temple froze her in place. The realization that she now truly stared death in the face stopped her from even breathing.

Mel could barely hear the commotion around her past the rapid thumping in her chest, the frozen blood rushing through her ears. Her mind raced even faster than her heart, flashing through memories of Kishin battles, the ones she had defeated relatively easily, and the ones, including the Canadian clown fiasco, that she had very nearly lost.

And in not one of those memories did she remember being nearly this scared.

"Alright, what the hell do you want?!" she heard her father shout.

"I want justice!" Liam yelled back. He held Melody against him with an arm tightly around her chest and arms. She fought her hardest not to cry, not to show how desperately afraid she was.

"Justice for what?!" Soul's voice started to shake.

" _For my sister!_ " Liam bellowed, taking the gun from Melody's head to point it at Soul. " _You killed her!_ "

Hollow silence followed his outburst, his accusation echoing in the minds of everyone present. Soul was the first to break it, shaking his head slowly at the distraught kidnapper.

"That…that was years ago," he whispered. "Hell, that was before Mel was even born! What does she have to do with it?"

Liam began to laugh. It was a strangled, twisted kind of laugh, the kind that one usually only hears from cookie-cutter psycho villains in superhero movies. Soul shook his head once more.

"We went over this years ago!" he called over the frightening laughter. "Your sister killed fifteen men and _ate_ their _souls_. And she was about to go for a sixteenth when-"

" _LIAR!_ " A shot went off into the ceiling, bouncing off the concrete and around the cellar. Mel screamed and made herself as small as she could to avoid being hit by the ricochet. By some stroke of luck, the small-caliber bullet buried itself in the wooden stairs, grazing Isaac but otherwise missing everyone in the room. "Evelyn was innocent!" Liam insisted, ignoring his brother's many choice swearwords.

"I honestly don't know how you deluded yourself so badly," Soul said through gritted teeth, "but your sister was a murderer, and on her way to becoming a full-blown Kishin. Even your parents admitted it!"

"She was seventeen!"

"So was I!" Another brief, thick silence followed Soul's shouted response. "That doesn't make her innocent, and I think you know that," he added in a more hushed tone.

Liam shakily dug around in his pocket, awkwardly putting his gun in his other hand and jostling Melody around slightly in the process. For a moment, she thought this the perfect chance to escape; but her hands were still tied, and the rest of her body was frozen in terror.

Finally, he threw down a crumpled photograph, putting his gun back in his dominant hand and using it to gesture to the picture.

"Does that look like a murderer to you?" he growled. Melody squinted at the picture. It showed a beautiful young brunette, smiling into the camera, with a boy who she figured out to be a much younger, cleaner-cut version of the crazed kidnapper. The picture had been taken by Evelyn-Mel could see the girl's forearms at the edges of the picture-and a well-placed lens flare gave the picture a warm, happy feeling.

A perfect summer snapshot.

Mel was brought back to the cold basement by her father's voice.

"No, she doesn't look like a murderer. But when we found her…she didn't look like that anymore."

"You're a liar," Liam choked out, once again aiming his pistol at Soul. "Evie was sweet and smart and she would never have done the things you people accused her of! Our parents were never the same! You destroyed our family!" Mel gasped as she felt the barrel of the gun pressed against her temple once more. "I wanted to kill you at first," he went on. "But as the weeks and the months and eventually the years passed by, I realized that would be too easy. Our family suffered the worst loss possible; killing you wouldn't teach you anything. I wanted to torture you the way you tortured us. I just couldn't figure out how…"

He looked down at Melody. She turned her face away but still felt the heat of his breath as he hissed, "And then you had a little baby girl."

"Please…" Soul was starting to beg now. A groan came from the other side of the room; David was coming to again. Liam looked over at Isaac.

"Let him go. I only needed him to keep this little bitch from biting my hand off."

Isaac nodded and cut through David's restraints. He picked him up by the collar of his sweater and half-dragged him toward the stairs. David tried to fight him, but he was far too weak at this point.

"No, wait...Mel!"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." It was hard to sound reassuring when she was shaken to her core. Soul took David and helped him up the stairs. He carried the half-conscious boy outside, and returned a moment later.

"Look, Mel has nothing to do with this. You shouldn't punish her for something I did." She could hear his voice quaking as he started to lose his calm facade.

"Oh, I'm not punishing her," Liam drawled. "She won't feel a thing. It'll all be over for her in less than a second. You, on the other hand," he pointed his gun at Soul again, "you and your old lady will feel it for the rest of your lives."

Liam put his gun back to Mel's head again. She closed her eyes. It was all she could do.

This was it.

"Killing me won't bring your sister back." Mel didn't even realize she'd said it until a second later. She felt her captor start to shake, trying to form words but unable to come up with any.

"Why, you little-"

There was the sound of sirens and a screech of tires outside, followed by lots of footsteps, and then shouting.

"Stop! Let the girl go!"

Liam took his gun away from Mel's head. She opened her eyes to several cops aiming their guns at him. Lord Death appeared at the top of the steps.

"Let her go, son," the police chief called. "It's over. We've got you on stalking, blackmail, kidnapping, assault and battery...you're already going to prison. I don't think you want murder on there, too."

Liam started to shake harder. She could hear him breathing through gritted teeth. It felt like forever before he finally spoke.

"Isaac...get over here. Untie her."

She felt her hands and feet freed, and immediately ran toward her father. The two of them made it up the stairs and out of the cellar, just as they heard the first shot go off. There were several more, and then silence.

It seemed like the world had faded away for a minute or two as Mel tried to comprehend what had just happened. Past the glare of the flashing red and blue lights, the sun was just starting to come up; she and David had been down there being tormented for hours. And that one phrase, uttered without even thinking about it, was the only reason she was still alive.

"Soul!"

Soul and Mel both turned toward the source of the call: a terrified, puffy-eyed Maka. She threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. Then, just as suddenly, she let go and shoved him back.

"Soul Evans, I swear to God if you _ever_ pull a stunt like that again, I'll...I'll..."

Somewhat to Mel's surprise, Soul began to laugh. He stepped up to Maka, took her head with both hands. "I missed you, too, Maka." And with that, he kissed her. Mel looked away and rolled her eyes.

Maka looked toward her daughter, and suddenly all that fury was aimed right at her.

"And _you_ , young lady. Not only did you scare me half to death, but you could have gotten yourself killed! And David, too! I _will_ put bars on your window, and I-"

Mel only smiled. "Missed you, too, Mom."

Maka balled her hands into fists, trying desperately to stay angry. In the end, though, all she could do was pull Mel in and hold her tight.

"Damn it, you are _so_ much like your father," she sobbed.

Soul came in and hugged both of his girls. Out of the corner of her eye, Mel saw an ambulance pull up.

"David…"

Mel split from her parents and sprinted toward the gurney being wheeled toward the ambulance.

"David!"

She caught him right as they were about to lift him into the vehicle. He weakly looked up at her and managed half a smile.

"Mel...thank God you're alright. God, Mel, I'm so sorry. I screwed up. I should have protected you, I…"

"No!" she brushed his hair back out of his face. "No, David, it's my fault. I shouldn't have rushed you into this. If I had just listened then you wouldn't be here and…"

Maka found herself flashing back to the old cathedral, when she and Soul were about that age, having a nearly identical conversation. She sighed and shook her head. She felt Soul put an arm around her, and turned to face him. She smiled.

"I really...did miss you," she said. Soul smirked back at her.

"I know you did. And I missed you guys. Hey…" he turned her so her whole body faced him. "Forgive me?"

She nodded and hugged him. She giggled. "I'm not sure Mel will forgive you if you've forgotten her birthday, though," she said. He shook his head as they started walking toward Mel.

"Come on, what kinda deadbeat dad do you take me for?"


End file.
